Inebriation
by orsa-verba
Summary: Judal doesn't really like bitter tasting wine. ( Belatedly, he remembers; neither does Hakuryuu. )


That much of a crowd gives him a headache. At this point, the half drunken men were all teetering on the stage of inebriation that would grant them total forgetfulness of this entire night, and that's about when Judal decided he'd had quite enough. He retreated from the main body of the crowd, weaving his ways around people until he found a secluded, half-lit corner in which to settle himself. The sounds of off tune, drunken singing and raucous laughter are still ringing in his ears, but it's a little more bearable when he's watching from the sidelines instead.

By then, everyone was already so far gone that his presence wasn't even missed among the rejoicing men and women. Honestly, he couldn't even remember what they're all celebrating, but something that Kougyoku was willing to get drunk over, to Ka-Kobun's horror and Judal's utter amusement. What it was, or is, Judal deemed himself decidedly bored of it now.

Not quite bored enough to take his leave of the banquet hall entirely, but bored enough. Besides, he had only had one goblet of wine and though he'd been poured a second, he had hardly touched it. It hung in his hand now, still almost full. Losing his mind to alcohol had never really been his idea of fun, at the wine was more bitter than his preference.

He had just begun to consider tossing the remainder of his wine into the potted plant to his left when, from his right, someone approached. It was almost embarrassing to say that, without even glancing to the side, he recognized them. Sure enough, when he tilted his gaze to the side, he was met with the sight of Hakuryuu Ren settling next to him, taking a sip from the wine goblet in his hand as he did. Judal decided immediately that the prince had to be at the very least, tipsy, otherwise he never would have willingly sat beside him. Even to avoid the heavily intoxicated mass of people.

Hakuryuu didn't turn to look at him and Judal didn't totally mind, mostly because it gave him total freedom to stare at the prince. His hair was slightly disheveled, like he had been pushing it out of his face repeatedly without bothering to pull it back again. Dark tresses are brushing his cheeks and not for the first time, Judal felt the nagging urge to reach out and brush them back, tangle his fingers in silky locks and toy with them. He didn't, mostly because it makes Hakuryuu angry when he touches him without permission, and at some point that ceased to be fun and became almost disheartening instead.

The Magi glanced away from the prince beside him, bringing his goblet to his lips without drinking and forcing himself to look at the celebration instead. He hoped to find something in the crowd to distract himself with, but this hope proved to be a vain one, which didn't really surprise him. He had a tendency to zero in on Hakuryuu, whenever he was around, and it had become such a habit that nothing could really pull that attention away any longer.

Up until this moment, it hadn't bothered him. Of course, up until this moment, Hakuryuu had also never really remained in his presence longer than seemingly necessary. There was the odd moment of comradery but for the most part, the prince seemed to still dislike being around him. As far as Judal knew, anyway.

His eyes raked the crowd instead of over his desired king for what felt like the hundredth time in the last minute and a half. It was more like the third, but it didn't feel that way. Just having Hakuryuu this close to him did something funny to Judal he never really bothered to try to pinpoint. He had a good enough idea of what it was and, like most things Judal didn't want to deal with, he just sort of pushed it to the back of his mind and carried on.

A half-second later he had to stifle a grimace. He'd tilted his goblet too far back and wine seeped through barely-parted lips. It tasted faintly of fruit but mostly, it just came off as sour as far as he was concerned. The goblet was pulled away from his mouth almost immediately and set down against the floor instead, his tongue dragging over his lips to clean away the remnants of the bitter liquid.

Something brushed his arm and Judal sat up straighter on instinct, turning his head despite already knowing who it had to have been. There was, after all, only one person close enough to touch him.

Somewhere in the crowd of people, one of the men tripped and fell over, dragging with him to the floor at least five of his fellows he'd been linking arms with. There was an uproar of taunts and laughter, which all of the fallen men joined in on, and a call for more liquor. This was the kind of thing Judal too would have laughed at, finding amusement in how pathetically ridiculous people became when inebriated, but he wasn't laughing.

Not because he didn't find it funny, but simply because he hadn't seen it. The laughter from the distracted group was entirely drowned out by an unfamiliar thudding in his ears that upon reflection would prove to be his own heartbeat. Whatever he'd expected when he turned his head, it was not to find Hakuryuu Ren nose to nose with him, but there he was, mismatched eyes close enough Judal could pick out flecks of ocean blue speckled within his irises.

For all the composure and poise Judal generally exhibited in his own, relaxed kind of way, he had absolutely no idea how to process this current situation. It wasn't like he hadn't gotten in the other's face before, and vice versa, but that generally involved a lot more yelling and a lot less intense staring. Now, it was like he was being pinned down by Hakuryuu's eyes, which for the way they were looking at him, might as well have been capable of melting a glacier. Since when had his eyes even been able to hold that kind of heat? He never looked like this when he was angry.

Judal sat there, not tensed but certainly not moving, and stared back, waiting for something he wasn't totally sure of until it happened. Hakuryuu made the first move, and about twenty seconds later, Judal mentally revoked his earlier statement. The prince was not tipsy; he had to be drunk. Had to be. Because there was no way that Hakuryuu Ren would ever, in a hundred years, kiss him. Not sober, anyway.

Except that, again, there he was, mouth pressed firmly against the Magi's. His lips were warm and to Judal's surprise, slightly chapped, though by no means rough or any way unpleasant against his own. The thing that surprised him however was the lack of trepidation. There was no hesitation and no nervousness in this gesture, it felt self-assured, like Hakuryuu was entirely confident in what he was currently doing.

They parted after several long seconds and Judal couldn't help but think that his mouth felt warm where Hakuryuu's had been. They were staring again within a single blink, and the whole moment processed quickly for the dark Magi.

Most people have a filter that allows them some kind of differentiation between _this is a good idea_ and _this is a bad idea_. Judal's filter went more along the lines of _is this worth dealing with the consequences later and if yes how annoying is it going to be to deal with them_. The answers to his current dilemma were _yes it is_ and _probably very_ , respectively. He decided to go for it anyway.

The opportunity to kiss Hakuryuu not once, but twice, proved too much for his little self-control to keep him from. His eyes fell shut and he ducked forward, pushing their mouths together again harder than he'd been kissed the first time. There was a thrill that shivered through him when the prince kissed back just as assuredly, doing nothing to push him off or away. The thought that they may be spotted did pass through his mind briefly, but between the drinking and the partying, it seemed unlikely. If they _were_ seen, it was likely to be forgotten.

Again, they parted to bother with breathing, and this time the staring did not last half as long. They both blinked the haze from their eyes for all of a few seconds before Hakuryuu push forward again, and this time he did so with his lips parted enough for teeth to press against Judal's lips. That was a feeling that he didn't realize he'd ever wanted, but there was a sudden urge to feel the prince biting down on his skin that was crushed only by the desire to kiss him deeper.

His lips parted and Hakuryuu took the lead for the second time that night, his mouth slanting over the other's and tongue sliding into his opened mouth. Judal heard himself make a tiny noise in the back of his throat, tilting his head to oblige the deeper kiss and returning it with equal fervor. Kissing the prince made a spark he hadn't realized existed burn bright inside him, and that spark may very well have turned into a wildfire if he wasn't careful, except that something occurred to him.

Hakuryuu did not taste like wine.

Hakuryuu tasted like the oranges and candied pecans that had been served after the banquet and he tasted faintly of honey that had probably been a part of something Judal wasn't recalling, but he didn't taste like wine. And, unless Judal was _seriously_ lacking in memory, one could not get drunk off of oranges, pecans, and honey. And likewise, one did not get drunk without tasting like their liquor of choice.

For the third time, they pulled apart, and this time Judal was left with lips parted and slicked by saliva that may or may not be his own. Heat crawled its way up his neck to his jaw and over his cheeks, burning at his pale skin in a blush he'd never admit existed even to himself. Crimson eyes blinked open wider than intended, and he found the prince staring back.

He blinked again, and Hakuryuu seemed to be gone. His eyes scanned the room in a moment of complete shock and was barely in time to catch the other's back as he slipped out of one of the banquet hall's side doors, disappearing into the silence of the outside palace halls. Judal just sat there, staring at where he'd exited in a mix of confusion and shock until his gaze turned back to where Hakuryuu had been, as if half expecting him to be there.

Naturally, he is not, but his wine goblet is, sitting there almost completely full. Untouched.

It only occurs to Judal much later, when he's escaped the bustle of the inebriated partiers to his own quarters to rest and quell his racing thoughts, that Hakuryuu hates bitter things, just like he does. He'd never drink such sour wine.

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